PAINTER: Hollywood ending at Riviera not in Couples' cards

It's not just because fans wanted to see the older guy win. Or because at 51, Couples won't have that many more opportunities for glory on the PGA Tour. The dark hair he sported when he won the Northern Trust Open in 1990 and 1992 has faded to gray, but Couples is still the same guy. Albeit with more aches, pains and soreness.

Couples has such a bad back he can't sleep or board a plane right now. And when he's driving, he has to make pit stops just to walk around and stretch.

Golf fans wanted to see him win the Northern Trust Open because they love Couples, and Couples loves being here. He's got personality. And isn't it fun to watch someone who enjoys what he does?

"Everyone loves Freddy," said Kevin Na, who played with Couples in the final round. "I love Freddy."

There's probably not a guy in the field who wouldn't have been grinning from ear to ear to see Couples win if he couldn't do it.

Couples can play blindfolded here, he said. He started Sunday's final round with three consecutive birdies, including a chip-in on the second hole.

After his birdie on No. 3, he owned a one-shot lead. All seemed destined for him to win at his favorite course, where he estimates he has played 150rounds.

He even skipped the Champions Tour stop in Naples, Fla., this week, an event he won as a 50-year-old rookie last year, so he could play at Riviera.

But golf isn't a perfect sport, and there was no perfectly happy finish for Riviera fans. Couples made a mess of the seventh hole, where he double-bogeyed, and he never put pressure on Aaron Baddeley after that. He even bogeyed the 18th hole with his fans waiting.

He doesn't buy into this he-beat-me-because- I'm-old stuff.

"He didn't care that I was 51," Couples said of Baddeley. "I didn't care he was 21 or whatever he is. No."

Baddeley shot a 2-under 69 to win on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2007.

Couples shot a 2-over 73 to finish tied for seventh, missing an opportunity to become the third-oldest player to win a Tour event.

He certainly felt old having to hit out of that rough on the seventh hole.

"I knew it wouldn't feel very good," Couples said of that shot following a wayward drive. "Nothing bad happened. I just didn't feel right at all. Then I started snap-hooking them, and I didn't hit them very far. I snap-hooked it on 9. I started getting outdriven by 20, 30 yards. I did hit a couple of good ones, but it was rough. Nothing bad. I'm not having any excuses. But after that point, I wasn't the same."

He wasn't the same golfer, but he's still that same guy that Los Angeles loves. Couples is a an adopted local guy here, having lived in Santa Barbara.

He's a Lakers fan. He's friends with Jerry West, the tournament's executive director. He was talking about teen singer Justin Bieber on the driving range before his round, that's how relaxed Couples felt before he teed it up.

So when he made that walk up the 18th fairway, which he's done for 29 years in his career, fans showered him with cheers. He was out of contention, but he was the one adored by fans, even though winner Baddeley was in the group.

"Everybody was yelling out `Freddy! Freddy!"' Baddeley said. "I knew he was going to be the fan favorite, and I mean, no reason he shouldn't be. He's been such a great player over the years, and I mean, the fans just love him."

One man yelled: "I love you Freddy! Have my baby."

Trouble started when Couples missed a 4-foot putt on the par-3 sixth hole and double-bogeyed the seventh after hitting his tee shot in the nasty rough in the right ravine.

"He started birdie, birdie, birdie and I was like `Oooooooh,"' Na said. "That par-3 kind of threw him off track. That double bogey really shook him up a little bit. This game, it only takes a little to throw you off."

Standing over that kind of shot in the rough had to make Couples' back ache, and he put it in a left sand trap.

He was never the same.

"I thought I could get it out of there, and I did," Couples said. "But that's some gnarly stuff."

A day earlier, Couples was cheered into the clubhouse over the final two holes with a fraternity-like atmosphere. A group of men chanted "Freddy!" over and over again and especially after Couples' playing partners teed off.

The reality for Couples is that he has to figure out this back issue. He's going for an MRI this week, and who knows what will happen with his schedule after that. He'll play the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach on the Champions Tour, then it's unclear before he plays in the Masters.

The game has not passed him by just because he hit 50. He could have won here Sunday. He has 14 top-10 finishes at Riviera.

He finished sixth at the Masters last year. This guy can still win on the PGA Tour.

Sunday wasn't his day. He ran out of gas down the stretch, but he still finished with a grin and waves and a wave of the cap.

"It's great," Couples said. "I had a little smile. It's fun. I love this place. I love the people."